Like Magnets
by suikalopolis
Summary: [LONG HIATUS] AU Of all the rotten times in his life, his very first gush-infested love letter just had fall into the wrong hands. 1827


**A/N:** The 'prompt' which urged me to write my first KHR fic is '_First Love'_, hence the reason why I decided to randomly whip up an overly-sappy, teeth-rotting sweet high school romance (despite the fact I dislike high school stories – pooh). Nonetheless, this amusing little bunny here had to bounce into the scene to help me bulldoze down my irritatingly stubborn writer's block. So yes, this is mostly inspired by a number of 1827 doujins as well as a large selection of Japanese music in my library. I'm not entirely sure if I will continue on with this fic but...ho hum, here we go then.

**Summary:** [AU] When Tsuna finally musters the courage to deliver a sentimental love letter to the beautiful school idol of Namimori Middle, Sasagawa Kyoko, he painfully realises how his dreams of securing a sweet romance with her were absolutely doomed. Especially when his letter falls into the hands of the notoriously intimidating high school student, Hibari Kyouya. [1827]

**Warnings:** Slight OOC (not too sure if I fully captured their characters). Shonen-ai. And a shameless attempt at the unbelievably popular 'high school' genre. Yikes.

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**L I** k **e** M **a g** n **e** t **s**

**a** **Hi**bar**ixT**su**n**a st**or**y

By **s**** u I k a's** **w I n d** o _f_ t h e **c e l e s t I a l**

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There was a glint of determination.

A deep intake of breath.

And Tsuna slammed the palms of his hands against the smooth surface of his desk, brown eyes staring at a small white envelope that lay neatly sealed before him. "Right. It has to be today! Today's the day I-I'll confess to Kyoko-chan! Yes, th-that's right. Not tomorrow but today. Yes, today. Today, right after school, I-I'll make my dreams come true!"

With that small resolution in mind, the boy carefully cradled the letter in his hands and left the house in a dash, running down the route towards Namimori Middle as he dismissed the silly excuses that were conjured up by his fears for the plans he had set for the day.

A terse shake of head.

_No. It must be today_.

Orange sneakers thudded across the wet pavement, narrowly missing the small puddles that had been left behind by the unexpected shower earlier on.

_I have to tell her. _

Dark brows furrowed together.

_I need to tell her._

Fingers curling in protectively as shaky hands drew the small precious envelope close to his chest, Tsuna dropped his attention to the paper at hand, his thoughts so engrossed with one special person that he vaguely registered the tall dark figure that had suddenly appeared from around a street corner.

_I need to tell her. I __**need **__to tell her!_

"Kyoko-chan! I–_oof_!"

There was a sudden collision of warm bodies.

A widening of blue-grey and brown eyes.

And then.

"What the–"

"– ugh!"

Tsuna found the world spin before his eyes in a dizzying kaleidoscope of soft and dull colours, his stomach churning unpleasantly at the sudden wash of vertigo that impaled him as soon as he felt his feet lift from the ground.

Wait. Lift from the…did he just trip up? What on _earth_…?

Blinking with confusion as he slowly lifted his body by his elbows, Tsuna dazedly looked up at the thing he had crashed into. Only to scream however (yes, he really did scream – the poor lily-livered boy) when he found a pair of steely blue-grey eyes glaring oh so menacingly down at him with such murderous intent.

_Oh god. Oh god. __**Oh god.**_

Heaven forbid, surely nobody's eyes could be _that_ animalistic, right?

Before Tsuna could even part his lips to babble out some incoherent nonsense (a thing he tended to do when something bad occurred, usually triggered by his own stupidity), those dark eyes narrowed and a strong hand suddenly clasped around his neck, squeezing the delicate area with such brutal force. Tsuna gasped, hands frantically reaching up to desperately pry the person's – no, boy's – fingers apart, utterly bewildered by the sudden vicious onslaught that had been (unjustly, might he add) inflicted on him.

_Oh CRAP._

A strangled choke.

_This can't be happening! _

A useless flailing of hands.

_Is he…is he trying to __**kill**__ me?_

Tsuna blinked, his face reddening with every passing moment as the older boy beneath him tightened his vice-like clutch a tad bit more, causing the boy to whimper. Slowly, he pulled the terrified boy closer to him, the tip of his nose almost touching Tsuna's as his scowling lips soon parted in order to speak. "You." Tsuna flinched when the nails of that cruel hand dug into his skin. "What do you _think_ you're doing, running around the streets of Namimori at this hour at such a dangerous, accident-prone speed?"

…_What?_

"To bear such audacity to disrupt the tranquillity and peace of _my_ town…a herbivore like yourself?" The boy's eyes flashed dangerously and suddenly a bar of metalhad magically materialised in his free hand (where on earth did that weapon come from? And…are those **bloodstains**!?), positioned with dead accuracy and potential brute force. "I'll bite you to death."

_W-WHAT?_

Tsuna's eyes widened in disbelief.

_What the…? Is this some kind of joke?_

It wasn't. The boy beneath him raised the weapon, the metal glinting ever so unpromisingly as that strong arm took aim for his head. "Wait! What are you – why are you–" The metal bar swung upwards and Tsuna squeezed his eyes shut, screaming. "**STOP**!"

There was a rush of air.

A fluttering of dishevelled, sweat-matted bangs.

And a furrowing of dark brows, a look of annoyance.

Tsuna slowly opened his eyes and peered up at the serious dark eyes that patiently stared down at him with barely-restrained anger. He trembled at the way those fingers twitched around his neck with an itching desire to snap it.

Good gracious. What had he done to deserve this?

"I-I think there – no, there _must_ to be some sort of misunderstanding here!"

The boy's fingers tightened around the metal bar.

"I-I mean, it was accident! Really! You see, I wasn't looking where I was going – which was incredibly stupid of me, but then again, I've already established the fact that I'm not that bright and utterly useless as everyone says I am – because I was busy preparing myself for the biggest confession of my life and –!"

A dark brow twitched.

_.CRAP._

" – so I stupidly crashed into you since I didn't really see you walking by, you know, what with how black you are and how it's getting dark as winter's coming by and–AH! No, that's not what I meant! I mean, you're not black, but your attire's all black minus your red arm band which spells 'Discipline Committee Chair…" Tsuna swallowed back the sudden lump that had mysteriously lodged itself in his throat. "–uh–um-well-and, er, your hair is all black and your eyes are kind of, but not really uh…well–well–"

_Oh god. What the hell am I…?_

"–I mean, no hold on, um – actually, I always see you walking down this road everyday on my way to school but somehow my attention span just went zero today and –!"

_Dammit, Tsuna. SHUT UP._

"Herbivore of Namimori Middle School."

Tsuna cringed. "Y-Yes?"

Suddenly, there were two metal bars eagerly clenched in the boy's hands and Tsuna almost cried when he saw the malicious smirk that danced across those wicked lips. "Prepare to be bitten to death."

Upon declaring the ultimate fate of the unbelievably unfortunate, cowering boy (who was on the verge of bawling his head off, mind you – the poor boy), the Namimori Discipline Committee Chairman raised his arms, poised the metal bars in a deadly angle and lunged.

"**HIIIIIIIIIIEEEEE!**"

_SMACK!_

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_

"Sawada Tsunayoshi!"

Upon sliding the door silently as an attempt to quietly slip into class while the teacher was busy, Tsuna jumped at the sudden bark and ended up slamming the door shut with an ear-deafening bang. Turning around on his heel with an air of reluctance, he faced his teacher and classmates with a rueful expression and lowered his gaze to the floor when he caught the look of concern on Sasagawa Kyoko's pretty face as well as the snickers and whispers from his classmates.

"Check it out. It's Dame-Tsuna."

"Ugh, he's so bedraggled. He must have woken up late – as always."

"Oh my god, did he even brush his hair? That's so gross!"

"Hah! I win. Told you he'd arrive late again."

"He probably got lost on his way to school! That's Dame-Tsuna for you!"

Tsuna hunched his shoulders, pursing his lips into a taut line as he clutched his bag closer to himself. Ah. So they've started to place bets on him.

"I bet you he'll trip over and drop his lunch like last time."

"200 yen if he spills his milk!"

"600 yen if he forgot to bring his lunch!"

A roar of laughter erupted from the class and Tsuna sighed resignedly, refraining himself from bashing his head against the nearest wall.

Smashing, indeed.

"Tell me, is this what you call punctuality, Sawada-kun?" the teacher snapped, unfazed by the sudden rowdiness of the class as she peered through her glasses, pinning him with a reprimanding look.

Tsuna hastily bowed. "I'm sorry for arriving late, Sensei. It-It won't happen again!"

"Is that so? Well now. Would you please enlighten your fellow classmates with the reason for your latest delay?"

There was an awkward shuffle of slippers.

A raising of eyebrows – multiple looks of expectation.

And a small, shamelessly vivid blush erupted across the boy's cheeks as he awkwardly tugged at the buttoned collar of his school shirt, obscuring the bruises that hid beneath.

"…I was attacked by a high school student."

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Lunchtime was an absolute nightmare.

It was only by sheer luck that Tsuna had remarkably managed to tiptoe around and away from the potential traps that had been laid down by his classmates (as they all decided to bet on his natural gift of clumsiness – especially on which end of the clumsy spectrum he would be at) as well as the well-expected confrontations that were bound to be thrown his way. Oh yes, apart from waiting to laugh off the latest instalment of 'Dame-Tsuna Show', many of his peers (as well as the rest of student population) were actually dying to guffaw off the real details of his unfortunate encounter with a high school student. Apparently, the disclosure of his apparent lateness that morning had only heightened his social status to 'Dame-Dame-Tsuna' and thus many farfetched rumours regarding his unpunctuality had sprouted out – the most ridiculous one being an attempt to peer up some older girl's skirt which resulted to a rough scuffle with her boyfriend.

Really, did people honestly think he was _that_ foolish, perverted and desperate? The fools. Why, truth be told, the only person he wished to be with was…

"Tsuna-kun?"

"Argh!"

A clumsy fumbling of fingers.

A sudden slip of wet carton.

And cold milk splashed across the front of Tsuna's school shirt in a wonderful soaking, dribbling mess. Tsuna stared at the wet patch in dismay, fighting the sweet urge to vehemently hurl his dripping milk carton across the school roof in a stormy fit.

Splendid, just splendid. Tsuna released a weary sigh, stubbornly dismissing the little dark voice that wickedly stated how half of the class had probably won their bet. Oh yes, what was it? 200 yen for spilling his milk? Or had the amount increased? He plucked the front of his wet shirt and eyed the splodge with distaste, wrinkling his nose at the scent of milk. Ugh, how was he going to wipe this off?

"Tsuna-kun."

Tsuna blinked, puzzled when he suddenly found a pink handkerchief hovering before him. He glanced up, only to stare in disbelief when he found the smiling face of Kyoko looking down at him and that it was her soft hand, her dainty fingers which were holding out the carefully folded piece of cloth which bore a small tinge of rose.

There was a brightening of a smile.

An eruption of a small scarlet blush across sun-kissed cheeks.

And then.

"E-EHHH? KYOKO-CHAN?!"

Tsuna quickly got up to his feet, cursing as he clumsily stumbled over his own feet and toppled backwards, landing on his bottom. Staring up at her, he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and nervously chuckled. "Ah, sorry! I-I didn't know you were around – I mean, of course you're around since we're practically in the same class and I always see you sitting at the front where the sun shines and your hair glows and – Ah! No! That's not – I mean, er, I didn't know you go up here since you always hang around the corridor with Hana-chan – n-not that I watch you and stuff – I mean – wait, that wasn't – I was actually going to say that, uh, well–!" Tsuna's eyes widened to the size of saucers when the girl suddenly settled down before him, gentle smile unwavering on her pink glossy lips. He swallowed, unconsciously moistening his own chapped ones. "Y-You just surprised me and my shirt's stained with milk now – n-not that it was your fault! No, no, no! Definitely not! I-I just wasn't holding the carton properly and it, well, it just slipped when you came, which shows that it was entirely my fault! So–! "

In spite of how garbled and incoherent his hasty words were, Kyoko simply shook her head and reached out to take his hand in order to place her handkerchief in his palm. "No, it's my fault, Tsuna-kun. Please, use this. It's not much but at least it will help you dry off."

"Eh! But–!"

"It's alright," she insisted with a small nudge to his hand.

Upon seeing the apologetic look on Kyoko's face which caused the cute little crinkle to her brows, Tsuna caved in, feeling his blush intensify in colour as he gingerly unfolded the handkerchief she had sincerely handed to him and dabbed it to the stain. "Thank you, Kyoko-chan."

A pregnant pause ensued then, one which consisted of the awkward dabbing of stubborn creamy-smelling stains and the occasional breeze which swept pass, fluttering the bangs of brown hair. A few discreet glances were snuck here and there, all of which belonged to Tsuna (whose heart had leapt at the sight of Kyoko and was now currently lodged in his throat thus rendering him speechless for the moment).

_Oh gosh. _

He swallowed, his fingers trembling slightly as he patted the stain with a bit more force.

_She's so pretty._

Feeling his face warm to an unbelievably ridiculous shade of crimson, Tsuna nervously licked his lips and watched as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. _Oh wow._ _She's wearing a new pair of earrings today_, he thought as he stopped dabbing the front of his shirt and slowly reached for his pocket in order to fish out the precious little envelope which contained the letter that will ultimately determine his chance of…

"Tsuna-kun, who attacked you this morning?"

Tsuna blinked – once, twice, three times – and stared at the object of his affections with a surprised look, dumbfounded by her sudden question. "…what?"

Kyoko turned towards him, face full of concern. "This morning…you said you were attacked by a high school student. Did…did he punch you?"

_EH? __**EHHHHHHHH???**_

Tsuna's jaw dropped open in disbelief.

_No way! Not Kyoko-chan too!_

"I mean, he didn't punch you deliberately, did he? He just thought you were extreme, right?"

_What?! Kyoko-chan! No! Don't listen to those rumours!_

"It was just an accident, right, Tsuna-kun?"

"_No!_" Seeing the surprised look on Kyoko's face, Tsuna realised his sudden outburst and flailed his arms frantically at her as he stumbled over his words, spluttering up a hasty apology. "I-I mean, no I wasn't punched! Not at all! Y-You shouldn't – I mean, well, actually – in fact, I just crashed into this mean-looking guy because I was trying to – no! Wait! – he – he was just there and while I was thinking about you – I mean, things! Yeah, lots of things! And then I ran into him and he got angry and he tried to kill me – n-not for real of course, Kyoko-chan! That was just a figure of speech! Hahaha!"

_Yeah right._

"B-but that doesn't matter anymore, K-Kyoko-chan because – well, actually it does matter because it kind of involves you but it doesn't but then again – Ah! Just forget what I said because it's irrelevant and totally out of topic except for the parts where I mentioned you which kind of means that everything –!"

_Oh for the love of –_

"Kyoko-chan! I–!" A tentative moistening of lips, a nervous gulp. "I – well, there's something that you – I – um, right here and –" Tsuna reached into his pocket, fingers shakily rummaging around the bits and pieces of trash and who-knows-what in order to fish out –

There was a widening of brown eyes.

A draining of colour from sun-kissed cheeks.

And Tsuna stared at the mouth of his pocket in utter disbelief, watching a piece of candy wrapper slip past his slackened fingers, floating to the ground in a succession of graceful strawberry-pink swirls.

_What…what…?_

Kyoko blinked.

The wrapper smoothly landed with such applauding grace.

And Tsuna screamed. Inwardly, mind you.

_**NO WAY.**_

"Tsuna-kun?"

_You have got to be joking! There's no way – it __**can't**__ be –!_

Tsuna pried his pocket a tad bit wider, eyes and hands frantically trying to feel, to locate that one envelope, that one piece of paper which held his mind, his soul, his very **everything**.

_Oh god. Don't tell me…_

"I'm sorry Kyoko-chan!"

"What – Tsuna-kun?!"

He pushed the door open and rushed down the stairs and through the winding corridors of the school building, his small body bumping and squeezing past the horde of bodies that loitered and choked the hallways.

"What the–h-hey!"

"Oi! Dame-Tsuna! Where're you going?"

"He spilled his shirt!"

"Hah! Told you!"

"Way to go, Dame-Tsuna!"

"500 yen says that he's running back to Mummy!"

"800 yen says he'll stay in school with that stain!"

His heart beat was pounding loudly in ears, drowning out the triumphant laughs, the jeers, the name-calls that were hurled his way. His eyes were wild, darting here and there as he ran, trying to – desperately –!

_Oh god. Please don't tell me! That time, when I–!_

There was a collision of hands against tinted glass.

A forceful shove, powered by momentum and willpower.

And an explosion of white and black occurred, triggering the utterance of startled gasps as well as the sudden swift clasping of hands around thin shoulders which arrested the possibility of an oncoming inelegant tumble.

_Whoa – what the…?_

"Herbivore."

Tsuna stiffened, words abruptly dying on his tongue as he gawked up at the face of the person he had fervently wished – no, prayed, dammit – all throughout his morning classes to not encounter with that day. Or the rest of his life for that matter.

_Oh sweet heavens above…_

A pair of blue-grey eyes narrowed dangerously and when those sinister lips curled into one heck of a nerve-racking, skin-crawling, soul-crushing scowl, Tsuna was undoubtedly sure that his heart had stopped beating and that his soul had been claimed by the Devil.

_Please. Save me now._

He eyed the small angry welt on the side of the boy's glowering face with overwhelming guilt, his breath hitching when he suddenly felt those ruthless fingers tightened their clutch, when those cruel hands yanked him close, when those enraged blue-grey eyes burned into his, when that tantalisingly warm, moist breath harshly swept across his lips as he hissed out:

"Sawada Tsunayoshi."

Tsuna winced, squeezing his eyes shut as he waited in bated breath for the well-expected beating he was going to receive for –

"Are you in love with me?"

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**A/N:** Drop in a review to find out what happens next! :)


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